The latest news on avoiding dairy products if you are lactose intolerant, have milk allergies, are a vegan, or want to keep kosher.

The Lactose Intolerance Clearinghouse Has Moved.

My old website can be found at www.stevecarper.com/li I am no longer updating the site, so there will be dead links. The static information provided by me is still sound.

For quick offline reference, you can purchase Planet Lactose: The Best of the Blog as an ebook on Smashwords.com or Amazon.com or BarnesandNoble.com or a whole lot of other places that Smashwords is suppose to distribute the book to. Almost 100,000 words on LI, allergies, milk products, milk-free products, and the genetics of intolerance, along with large helpings of the weirdness that is the Net.

I suffer the universal malady of spam and adbots, so I moderate comments here. That may mean you'll see a long lag before I remember to check the site and approve them. Despite the gap, you'll always get your say. I read every single one, and every legitimate one gets posted.

Saturday, August 21, 2010

I posted about the introduction of Daiya vegan "cheese" almost a year ago. I said, "It's big distinction is that instead of soy or rice or the usual bases, Daiya uses tapioca* and/or arrowroot flours."

The vegan cheese world can't sit still for long. Daiya, a Canadian product, is finally busting out all over. All over Canada, at least. Naturally, there's a press release.

Daiya Foods has been called "the holy grail of vegan cheese". naturalnews.com says "Daiya is one brand that stands out from the rest. Based on its excellent taste, texture, and ingredients, Daiya truly is a delicious and healthy vegan product."

Daiya Foods originated in Vancouver, BC. The Naam restaurant on W. 4th Ave was one of their first customers and Canadian consumers have been asking for the last year when they can buy the product in Canada. The day is on the horizon, the labeling issues holding Daiya Foods back have been overcome, and the packages are at the printers! We will start shipping to distributors Oct 1st, and you will see the product in stores by the end of the month!

Over the last year the only way to purchase Daiya products in Canada was to order 5lb foodservice packages from online retailers like Karmavore or Viva Granola; many supportive Canadian consumers waited patiently for their shipment of Daiya style shreds to arrive at their front door. Now everyone will find the retail packages exploding onto shelves in early fall, plus the foodservice and prepared foods sections in markets will be ramping up over the next 4 weeks.

Enjoy Daiya products on your pizza, nachos, and comforting macaroni. Daiya products are a healthy choice that offers all of the taste, melt, and stretch without the guilt! It's a perfect option for any diet need, whether you have a common food allergy, are lactose intolerant or vegan, or your [sic] just watching cholesterol and trans fat intake!

Positive feedback is already coming in from the foodservice market; Boon's Burger Café in Manitoba says "Thanks Daiya, we’ve got new customers coming in the door… just because we are carrying your "cheese"! With a powerful, fast moving national launch in the US Whole Foods and the continued trends in vegetarian and health eating, Daiya Foods expects the same excitement in Canada. Check back often to see where you can purchase or enjoy Daiya products at www.daiyafoods.com/where/index.aspx.

Product information: Daiya products are a revolutionary new dairy-free vegan option that tastes, shreds, melts, and stretches perfectly for any of your favorite recipes. Daiya is free of many of the common allergens including; dairy (casein and lactose), soy, gluten, egg, peanuts and tree nuts (excluding coconuts). Daiya is also free of animal products, cholesterol, trans fats, and preservatives. To find out more visit www.daiyafoods.com.

To spare you, I edited the release to create paragraphs and I added some proper punctuation. I complain all the time about how badly written press releases are, but this one is close to the bottom.

Hi, Daiya! I'm available!

*UPDATE: That used to say cassava flour, but the ingredients lists now [11/27/11] read tapioca flour instead.

About Me

I'm lactose intolerant. I wrote the book on the subject. Literally. Milk Is Not for Every Body: Living with Lactose Intolerance is its name.
I've researched everything on the subject of lactose intolerance for 30 years. I know just about everything about living without dairy products. That means I've been able to help people with dairy protein allergies, vegans, those who want to keep kosher, and others who want to reduce, limit, or eliminate dairy from the diet.
I keep an eye out for information that might be useful. You can see a lot of it at my website, Steve Carper's Lactose Intolerance Clearinghouse (www.stevecarper.com/li). The Milk Free Bookstore and the Product Clearinghouse sections have something for everybody. But the site got too big to update regularly and too cluttered to find information easily.
That's why I started this blog. It really does cover the planet for lactose- and dairy-related items. I think I have the only blog in the world that does this.
So please check it out regularly. Send me items you think may be of interest. Ask me questions: I answer every one, either here or by email. stevecarper@cs.com